1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and communication parameter setting method for automatically setting communication parameters.
2. Description of the Related Art
The spread of wireless local area networks (LANs) has seen an increasing demand for technologies that simplify the setting of communication parameters required for wireless LAN communication, such as SSIDs, encryption methods, encryption keys, authentication methods and authentication keys, which users find complicated.
This demand has resulted in venders of wireless LAN devices installing methods for automatically setting communication parameters in their products in an attempt to simplify the setting of communication parameters (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-215232). An automatic communication parameter setting method is a method for automatically setting communication parameters using predetermined procedures and messages between connected devices. Here, an exemplary automatic communication parameter setting method will be described below.
Firstly, a device that provides communication parameters (hereinafter, “providing device”) constructs a network for automatically setting communication parameters, using a prestored SSID for setting communication parameters.
On the other hand, a device that acquires communication parameters (hereinafter, “acquiring device”) prestores the same SSID for setting communication parameters as the providing device, and detects and participates in the network constructed by the providing device based on the SSID.
Next, the providing device in the network for automatically setting communication parameters automatically generates communication parameters for use in normal data communication, and transmits the generated communication parameters to the acquiring device. The acquiring device, on receiving the communication parameters for use in data communication transmitted by the providing device, then sets the communication parameters therein.
Data communication is thereby enabled by newly constructing a data communication network between the devices.
Using the foregoing setting method enables communication parameters for data communication to be changed whenever automatic communication parameter setting is performed, improving security in comparison to when the communication network is always constructed with fixed values.
There is also a method that involves the acquiring device acquiring status information from a nearby device and participating in the network of the providing device after detecting that the providing device is in communication parameter setting mode, based on the acquired status information (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-175524).
However, if the devices do not prestore the same SSID, the conventional method that involves storing SSIDs cannot be applied.
In this case, automatic communication parameter setting can be successfully performed as a result of the acquiring device participating, in turn, in all of the networks constructed by devices present in the vicinity thereof, and trying to perform automatic communication parameter setting.
However, if there are a large number of devices in the vicinity thereof, the acquiring device ends up repeatedly performing the automatic setting process with devices other than the providing device, requiring a great deal of time until the automatic setting process is successfully performed.
With the above-mentioned method that involves acquiring status information, the automatic communication parameter setting process ends up being performed with unsuitable devices if there is a plurality of devices in communication parameter setting mode.